Stuck in a Snowstorm
by No Pain No Gain
Summary: Here I am, trapped with the love of my life, who doesn’t even KNOW that he’s the love of my life, in a cold cavern with limited supplies, no way out, in a perfect terrain for an avalanche, lost in the wilderness. This... is... AWESOME! ZeLink Oneshot.


**Author's Notes:**

**This is what happens when my internet dies, and I'm stuck playing Sonic the Hedgehog video games (SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG FTW!!!)... (By the way, Sonic Adventure Battle 2 RULEZ! Though not more than LoZ X3) Anyway, inspiration just popped in my head and I produced this oneshot.**

**ENJOY! (Even if it IS 20 degrees Celcius outside... (I'm guessing it's around 70 degrees for all you Ferenheighters? Lol, I dun even know how to write it xD) well, at least here in Montreal, it is xD)**

**Rated T for cursing, and just cause I feel like it...**

************************

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE'RE GOING ON A SKI TRIP!!??"

"Relax Zelda, it'll be fun!" Link chuckled at my horrified expression.

I still kept in on though. There was NO WAY I was going on a ski trip. NO FRICKIN WAY! I can't be ready on such short notice!!

"Please, don't do this…" I groaned.

"I did. I booked us rentals and a full day on the slopes. I know it's a bit short notice, but come on, it'll be a blast." He grinned proudly.

"You could've told me before, y'know. There's no way I'll be ready in time for tomorrow this way. I LIKE having my events planned a few days before. I don't even know what to wear! What to bring? How am I supposed to be ready on time???!!!" I panicked.

"I'll help you." He grinned, jumping off the sofa and running over to my room.

I sighed. Hi. I'm Zelda Harkinian, seventeen years old. I live in an apartment I rented when my parents decided to go live in Termina. I have long blond hair and clear blue eyes. I like physical exercise, but shopping is also a passion. I go to college now with my best friend, Link.

Link? He's my best friend, a seventeen years old orphan to whom I gave a room at my place. I've known him since third grade, when he defended me from a bunch of bullies at school. Since then, we've become inseparable. He has unruly dirty blond hair and shining azure eyes. He's all about sports, especially fencing, archery and horseback riding. Though in winter, he's mostly on ski, snowboard and skating.

Which is exactly why he's dragging me tomorrow on a day-long ski trip.

Which would have completely sucked if it wasn't LINK I was going with.

You see…? I have a little complication… I have this little crush on Link… Well, big crush. Obsession. I can't get enough of him, he's just so gentle, careful and nice when he wants to, and adapts quickly to my needs… We hang out a lot… It's a wonder we're not together yet…

I would tell him… But I can never gather enough courage to say it. What if he didn't share those feelings? What if I just humiliated myself? What if…? Ah, screw it… I just kept my feelings bottled up all this time. Every time I walk up to him and try to confess, he always gives me that charming, disarming smile of his. I'd just stutter something and walk away.

Anyway, I think I should get going before Link starts picking out my undergarments. Though he's not a perv, he's the total opposite. And I like him just the way he is.

---

"So? Ready to hit the slopes?" Link grinned as he stood beside me on the mechanic lift that brought us up.

"You sure we should be doing this? There ARE a lot of ominous clouds on the horizon…" I noted, biting my lip as my gaze travelled to the horizon, where a mass of black clouds were slowly creeping towards us.

"Don't worry. No snowstorm is going to ruin our day. Besides, the slopes announcers will tell us when we should get down, and the snowstorm has been forecasted as a light one." He winked at me. I blushed, barely restraining myself from gaping at his charming expression.

"Great." I rolled my eyes, turning away from him.

"Well, get ready, we're gonna come off now." he nodded towards the end of the line that was approaching quickly. We lifted the metal bar holding us in our places, and when we got to the landing area, we jumped off, and laughing like little kids, we ran off towards the first slopes.

"Okay then! Let's rock this thing!" Link cheered as he chose a relatively simple slope to start with.

"You sure?" I looked at the track uneasily.

"You DO know how to ski, right?" he asked.

"Yeah I do… I'm just… not so sure…" I sighed.

"You worry too much Zel. Now put on those skis and let's hit the slopes." He smirked, sitting down and starting to secure his snowboard's straps on.

"Fine, fine." I smirked and worked on getting my skis on my feet.

Once done, Link jumped up and tested his balance. I was just finishing my right foot's straps when I saw him pull down his snowboard goggles and smiled at me.

"Ready?" he grinned.

"Yeah, bring it on." I smirked back, putting down my own goggles. Then, I advanced to his side and looked up at him.

"Ready?" he asked.

"On three. Let's see who can get to the bottom faster." I suggested.

"It's a deal!" he grinned, then raised his fingers. "One… THREE!" he laughed as he gave himself a push, starting down the mountain.

"HEY!" I laughed behind him as I gave myself a boost and followed behind him.

The ride down was exhilarating. The wind and snow whipped my face, making my long hair and pink scarf fly behind me. Even through my scarf and hat, I could feel the little snowflakes hitting my face, stinging me as I sped down the hill. Soon, I realized I couldn't feel my earlobes and the tip of my nose. I could feel my hot breath turning ice cold as soon as it exited my mouth, and my fingers were already numb, even though we had just started.

I smiled and crouched, concentrating on catching up to Link.

Unfortunately, no matter how fast I went, I couldn't catch up to him, and I barely slid to a stop to avoid big damage as I smashed right into Link. Laughing, we fell down and stood there for a moment before rolling off and getting up.

"We're doing it again." Link grinned, putting up his snowboarding glasses to show his giggling blue eyes.

"Alright." I chuckled, taking off my skis as I followed him to the lift.

On one side, I was sure I was going to have fun after all. On the other side, I had a foreboding sense of danger. And I'd learned long ago not to ignore that sense.

---

It was late in the day, maybe around six o' clock, when it happened. Link and I had decided to hit the hardest slopes. That obviously meant the ones furthest from the cabin. Laughing and talking, we both made our way up the stairs that led us up when Link looked up at the sky, brows furrowed.

"What is it?" I inquired, seeing that he stopped talking.

"… I'm guessing this is our last ride…" he sighed, pointing up at the menacing clouds looming overhead. "Looks like that snowstorm will hit soon." He noted out loud.

"Then let me get ready… If this'll be the last, I want it to be perfect." I grinned, taking off my hat and placing it on the snow covered ground, followed by my grandmother's scarf.

Then, I pulled my hair up in a ponytail, concentrating on tying it to realize that there was a huge gust of wind. Unprotected by my hat and scarf, I shuddered.

Link noticed and chuckled. "Maybe you should put your stuff back on, you don't look like you can take much cold." He grinned.

"Oh shut it, I'm perfectly okay." I grinned just as another gust hit and I shuddered again.

"Perfectly okay my ass." He chuckled. "Come on, redress, little Zellie." He grinned at my pet name, pointing towards the spot where my hat and scarf used to rest.

USED TO REST!

I dropped my hair before finishing tying it and looked around, gasping. Link also noticed at the same time and looked around as well.

"What the hell? Where'd your stuff go?" he raised a brow. Just as he commented, my eyes caught something pink floating into a mass of tress, as in the nearby forest.

"AFTER THAT SCARF!" I gasped and broke into a run, forgetting that my feet were strapped to my skis. I screamed as I tripped and fell, grunting when I hit the snow.

"Lemme help." Link laughed and kneeled down to me, helping me out of my skis. Then, without a second thought, we grabbed our stuff and ran off behind my scarf and hat. Usually, I'd let it go. But for one, I don't feel like sliding down a slope bare-headed. Then, it's my grandmother's scarf. The last memento I had of her. I can't lose it. What took me to wear it today? Probably because it was the prettiest one I had, and I wanted to impress Link…

With those thoughts, I spurred my legs forward. Soon enough, we were running into the forest. Deeper and deeper as the trees swallowed us and the dark clouds became denser overhead.

---

At one point, we both found my hat caught on a tree branch. Gasping in relief, I quickly grabbed it and put it on, and looked around… No signs of a scarf…

"THERE!" Link pointed deeper into the forest as my eyes caught a tinge of pink.

"GET IT!" I gasped, breaking into a run again.

"Damn, Zelda. Your scarf is possessed…" Link muttered as he panted, running next to me. Needless to say, all this gear was really slowing us down. Dammit, all the things we have to do to catch a damn SCARF!

The wind had picked up, blowing mercilessly through my uncovered neck. I shivered, feeling goose bumps dot my skin, slowing me down. Link seemed to notice as he stopped for a moment and took off his own green scarf. Then, he handed it to me with that pretty smile of his.

"Here, take this, sure looks like you could use it." He laughed.

I blushed and grabbed it. "Won't YOU get cold?" I asked.

"I don't get cold easily." He winked, then broke off into a run again. I rolled my eyes and hastily wrapped his scarf around my neck, breathing into his enchanting scent before running off behind him.

---

When we finally caught up to my scarf though, the storm was already brewing, light snowflakes dancing in our eyes as the wind picked up tenfold. That's when I started getting worried.

"There." I handed Link his scarf back and put mine on, making sure it was secure before letting it go.

Then, I turned to Link. "Great." He sighed, rolling his scarf around his neck. "So now that we found your haunted scarf." We both chuckled to that. "We can go back, right?" he smiled angelically.

"Lead the way." I rolled my eyes sarcastically.

But he suddenly stopped, looking around. The howling wind was all that whistled in my ears, asides the pounding of my heart. He couldn't… He wouldn't… No way…

"Uhh…" he muttered.

"You DO know which way we came from, right?" I asked, fearing the worst.

"I… think… it was that way…" he bit his lip, pointing in a random direction.

"You THINK?" I groaned.

"Hey, it's better than just staying here…" he shrugged.

"Fine, fine." I sighed, following him as we silently advanced in the direction we chose. None of us would admit it, but we both knew it was true.

We were definitely lost.

---

By the time we finally found a clue to where we were, the snowstorm had already hit. Forced to put down our ski goggles, we didn't really notice each other's hopeful gazes as we spotted a clear slope through the blurring snow-carrying wind whipping us.

"THERE!" Link yelled over the howling wind, pointing at the slope.

"COME ON!" I urged him as I advanced towards the clear path.

We both exhaled in relief when we made it on the clear path. Link moved to the middle of the path and checked to the bottom. Then, he turned to me. I couldn't identify the look in his eyes though.

"I CAN'T SEE THE BOTTOM!" his yell floated to my ears.

"WHAT?" I gasped, running for him. That's when my boots, crunching in the soft snow, made me realize something.

I stopped next to Link, looking under my feet. The snow we were on was soft, unused. Also, unstable. Plus, we were on a very steep slope… And with the wind picking up dangerously…

"Link…?" I whimpered.

"Yeah?" he sighed, disappointed.

"I don't think it's a good idea to stay here any longer." I bit my lip, grabbing his arm and pulling him off the slope, back into the trees.

"Why not?" he raised a brow questioningly at me.

"… Let's just say that the slope we were on was PERFECT for an avalanche." I shuddered.

"Oh shit." He gasped, reeling back a step. "Thanks…" he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Alright… Now what?" I asked, scared.

"Don't worry." He smiled comfortingly at me. "Let's find a shelter of some sort, then I'll take the time to look through my pockets to see if I have anything that could help." He suggested.

"Can do." I nodded, not wanting to stay out here a moment longer. "Let's go." I started hiking up again.

"WAIT! ZELDA!" he gasped, running to my side.

"What?" I asked, wondering if I'd done something wrong.

"We shouldn't get lost. Stay close." He ordered.

A devious idea popped in my head… Well, I could take advantage of it while it was still there…

"Can I hold your hand?" I asked casually. Thankfully, he was too busy searching for a cave of some sort to notice.

"Sure, go ahead." He distantly agreed.

"Thanks." I giggled as I slid my hand in his. A beautiful heat overwhelmed me as I followed him up the mountain.

---

"I think this is good." Link finally sighed out over the now-raging storm around us, pulling me into a crevasse in an exposed rock. It was pretty big, and could have easily fitted ten people. So it was no sweat for two people who wanted to stay close.

"Great job." I sighed out in relief as we both kneeled as not to hit our heads on the low ceiling and moved to the very back of the little cavern. "So what do you have?" I asked anxiously.

"Gimme some time…" he smirked, taking off his gloves to check his pockets. Slowly, a pile of objects grew in front of my eyes. Incredulously, I reached out to inspect a few of them.

"Wait, so you keep tissues, a lighter, a pocket knife, glow-in-the-dark sticks, paper and pencils, a first-aid kit and a bunch of other stuff like gum, a bottle of water, a small bag of chips, crackers and more, IN YOUR POCKETS?" I gaped incredulously at him.

"Well… yeah…" he shrugged sheepishly. "You never know when they might come in handy…" he remarked.

"You're right…" I sighed thoughtfully, trying to think up a plan. "Well now, we need to alert someone that we're stuck up here…" I mused out loud.

"Why not send a message?" he asked innocently, putting up his cellphone, apparently the last thing that came out of his pocket.

"Try…" I sighed, knowing the answer when he frowned.

"Damn snowstorm… Screwed up the signal." He growled, snapping his phone shut. "It won't pick up any service…" he sighed hopelessly.

"Why can't we just follow the trail down the mountain?" I suggested.

"We could, except for a couple facts. One, it's dangerous to stay outside in a snowstorm, we could get lost EVEN MORE. Two, we wouldn't last long. Even though we're protected, the snow is bound to cut through our clothes one day… It wouldn't be nice to fall unconscious right in the middle of an avalanche slope. Which brings me to my third point. You specified it, with the snowstorm and the soft snow, an avalanche could suddenly start at any given time. We sure don't wanna get caught in one of those… And four, we don't even know if the slope leads down to the cabin. For all we know, it could lead us further away from it than closer to it." he explained.

"Well…" I sighed thoughtfully.

A plan suddenly popped up in my mind. It was crazy, but it could be our only chance.

"I do believe you have a pencil and paper in there, right?" I asked, hopeful.

"Sure do…" he sighed, picking up a pen and paper from his pile of stuff and handing them to me.

"Thanks." I smiled, then got to work, using Link's snowboard as a support. Once done, I did my best to scribble down my message with the slightly dysfunctional pen.

"_HELP! Stuck up in mountains. Caught in snowstorm. Near the prohibited avalanche slope."_ I made the letters as thick as possible before turning to Link.

"I saw scotch tape somewhere in there too." I frowned. As if answering my silent question, Link handed a roll of duck tape to me. "Thanks." I chuckled amusedly. "It's nice to know you carry everything with you." I giggled.

"You're welcome." He rolled his eyes sarcastically.

I only smiled back and put the paper face down on Link's snowboard. Then, I quickly taped it to the board, at the same time providing the paper a waterproof cover and a safe hold on the board. "There." I grinned proudly at my work. My eyes drifted to the glow-in-the-dark sticks, and my grin only widened.

I grabbed a couple, activated them, and using Link's duck tape, I taped them all around the snowboard.

Link immediately guessed. "What's the message?" he inquired curiously.

"Oh, just an S.O.S…" I shrugged, turning towards the entrance. "Let's just hope it'll get down there…" I sighed. Link got up and followed me outside as we headed for the dangerous slope again.

"I'll check for anything dangerous." He suggested, turning around and looking up the mountain. As for me, I kneeled onto the soft snow, sinking into it. Then, choosing the (hopefully) clearest path down the mountain, I whispered a soft prayer to the Goddesses and gave the board a push. Both of us watched in silence as our only hope slid down the mountainside, and we only moved when it disappeared from our sight.

"Let's go." Link gently urged me, grabbing my arm and pulling me back towards our little cave.

Once inside, we huddled up at the back again. That's when I shuddered.

"It's cold in here." I remarked with a frown.

"Naw, we're stuck in a stone cavern with a huge snowstorm brewing outside. Don't you think it would be cold?" Link chuckled sarcastically.

"Oh, shut it, you." I sighed, but shivered again.

"Here." Link sighed, handing me his scarf. I took it gratefully, but looked at him worriedly.

"What about you?" I asked as I put it over my nose, my eyes being the only skin available to see.

"I told you not to worry about me." He chuckled with that angelic smile of his. Damn, I just wanted to jump his bones now… No, bad Zelda. Bad.

…Though we were alone… isolated… in desperate need of heat…

No, it wouldn't be very wise to undress in this kind of situation.

Blushing at my messed up intentions, I turned away from Link, spotting his lighter from the pile of random objects he had taken out of his pockets (I still couldn't believe he carried all that in his POCKETS). Smiling, I reached for it and brought it close. Making sure it worked, I turned to Link.

"Got anything we can set fire to?" I asked hopefully.

"We can try, though I'm not sure it'll last long." He sighed.

"Better than nothing." I shrugged and looked through his pile of stuff. He soon joined me in our search for anything we could burn down.

In the end, we ended up with a brown paper bag, a couple sheets of paper, three pencils, a few plastic wraps, Link's mittens and a glow-in-the-dark stick.

"I'm not sure about the last one…" I frowned. "Burning it could release all the toxic fumes inside…" I mused out loud.

"We'll close our noses, and besides, the cavern's open, so no risk for suffocation. If we lay low on the ground, the fumes should hover above us and shouldn't reach us too much." He shrugged, igniting a spark on his lighter. "Ready?" he grinned, bringing the lighter close as a flame popped out of it.

"Just do it." I frowned, though instinctively stepping back.

"Alright." With that, he set fire to the pile of stuff. It immediately caught on fire, and in less than a minute, a huge flame had erupted in front of us, apparently fuelled mostly by the substances inside the glow-in-the-dark stick.

"Nice." I commented, lying on the ground, covering my nose with my scarf, but standing as close as possible to the fire.

"Thanks." Link grinned, lying down next to me, and removing his hat to use it as a default for a scarf. Now bare-handed, bare-headed and bare-necked (if you could say that…), Link was much more vulnerable to the cold. I'm getting worried.

"Hey, do you think we could send a signal to someone by burning something outside? The smoke could lead someone to us…" I suggested.

"Nah…" he frowned. "That would've been a good idea, except that there's a storm raging outside. For one, the lighter wouldn't have lit. And even if it had, the wind could carry the smoke away, misguiding anyone who might have been on a search for us…" he mused out loud.

I only found one word to say. "Damn."

"I know. Now all we can do is wait."

"Do you have the time?" I asked.

Link took out his cellphone and checked. "Eight. Damn, we've been out for over two hours!" he gasped.

"Dammit…" I sighed. "Wait for a second." I got up, moved around the fire and poked my head outside, checking the sky. Just like I suspected it. Pitch black.

I moved back inside with a sigh and took my place next to Link again.

"It's dark outside. I don't think anyone's gonna find us today." I groaned desperately.

"It's okay Zel." He comforted me, throwing his arms around me and drawing me close. I blushed, instantly feeling a strong heat spreading from his touch. I relaxed in his arms. "As long as we keep close, our body heat should keep us warm. You can sleep, I'll take the first watch shift." He suggested.

"Watch shift…? For what?" I yawned.

"To make sure the fire's still going on… And just in case anything happens…" he shrugged.

I was too tired to think anymore anyway. So yawning again, I slid down a bit and put my head down in his lap. "D'you mind…?" I asked sleepily.

"Go ahead." He shrugged, though I could see a blush creeping up his uncovered face.

"Thanks. Wake me up when it's my shift." I told him.

"Can do." He replied emptily.

"Thanks. Night Link." I smiled and made myself comfortable.

"Night Zel…"

**XXX…XXX**

I wasn't just scared, I was terrified.

What else could I feel like in a situation like this? Leaning back against the cold cavern walls, I made sure Zelda was well within my lap and I gave up to my thoughts.

Zelda…

I am so damn worried about her! What if help comes too late? What if it doesn't come at all? What would happen to Zelda? I couldn't let her die! I wouldn't let anything happen to her, I swore!

I swore… I swore to protect her, to love her like no other…

Love her… I love her… But does she love me..?

It was such a depressing train of thoughts. Here I am, trapped with the love of my life, who doesn't even KNOW that she's the love of my life, in a cold cavern with limited supplies and no way out because of the raging snowstorm outside, in a perfect setting terrain for an avalanche, lost in the middle of nowhere.

This couldn't get any better.

Seriously! Maybe I'd finally get the courage to confess my love to her. In this desolate atmosphere, maybe I could finally tell her about my feelings.

My thoughts returned to the real world. The storm, for example.

It seemed to get stronger by the minute, seeming in no hurry to calm down. What took me to take Zelda out on a ski trip in a weather like this? It's all my fault…

Though not entirely… The forecast said it would be a mild storm. Mild my ass.

And all thanks to me and those idiots at the forecast channel, Zelda's in danger. I have to protect her, I just have to.

With those thoughts, I checked the fire. It was still going strong, though the odour of some kind of burning substance was starting to invade the cavern, slowly getting changed by the cold air outside though.

I sighed. This would be a long night.

---

I don't know how it happened, but I fell asleep. It didn't last long though, as a deep rumbling awoke me from my sleep.

"What now…?" I moaned out loud, rubbing my eyes tiredly. As a response, the rumbling came again. It wasn't my stomach, we had eaten just a… well, I wasn't feeling hungry, and besides… the rumbling was way too strong to be made by someone's stomach.

The fire had died down a bit, the flaming tongues only reaching half their initial height now. I guessed the substance feeding the fire was beginning to finish. So I got up and headed for the entrance, checking up towards the mountain to try and find the source of the noise.

When I spotted it though, the world disappeared. The raging cold seemed to concentrate on my breath as it froze in my throat. My heart sank as I quickly rushed inside and kneeled next to Zelda.

"ZELDA ZELDA ZELDA ZELDA ZELDA!" I hurriedly screamed her name, shaking her roughly. She finally woke up, moaning and rubbed her eyes tiredly.

"What is it, Link?" she sighed, looking at me sleepily.

"Zelda, whatever happens, tell me you won't panic." I held her shoulders and looked into her beautiful crystalline eyes pleadingly.

"I promise." She yawned, though a bit more alert.

"Then in that case, it's safe to tell you that we have an avalanche heading our way."

"…"

"…"

"Well, fuck."

**XXX…XXX**

AVALANCHE? AVALANCHE!? AVALANCHE???!!! OH GODDESSES, EVERYBODY RUN FOR THEIR LIVES!

"What do you mean, AVALANCHE?" I yelled, now taking my turn in grabbing Link's shoulders and shaking him so hard, my scarves fell off of my face, showing my red cheeks and teary eyes.

"I mean those huge rushes of snow that destroy everything in their passage as they roll down a mountain." He chuckled darkly.

"I KNOW WHAT AN AVALANCHE IS, YOU ASSHOLE! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIIIE!!!!!!" I screamed, and not a second later, I burst out into tears, hiding my face into my mittens, soon wetting them. The salty water stung on my cheeks, frozen by the cold air that seemed to get colder with each passing second, accompanied by the now-loud rumbling sound.

"ZELDA!"

I didn't listen, merely kept crying.

"ZELDA! LISTEN TO ME!"

I still held down stubbornly, only doubling my cries.

"LISTEN TO ME, DAMMIT!"

"NO! HOW CAN I LISTEN TO YOU WHEN WE'RE ABOUT TO DIE!?" I screamed back, lifting my head and looking at him through teary eyes.

I couldn't say any more. My atmosphere suddenly changed. From biting cold to melting hot. My brain didn't register what had happened until Link pulled his lips away from mine.

My cries stopped, and I looked up at him. Both his hands were cupping my cheeks, his azure eyes glinting in the darkness.

"Zelda, listen to me." He urged me again, gently for a change. This time, I stopped and looked at him, mesmerized. "If these are truly our last moments, which I doubt, then I just want to tell you that very since we've met, I've loved you. You're just so pure, so beautiful, so nice, you're my angel. And if I'm going to die, I'd just like you to know that before I plunge into eternal darkness." He whispered.

I couldn't speak. Tears started rolling down my cheeks again, but tears of joy this time. I was speechless, mouth hanging open in a gasp.

"Don't cry." He whispered passionately, wiping one of my tears away. "Please, don't cry. Give me these few moments with your smile. Please." He begged me with a small smile.

All I managed to say as a response was his name. Over and over again. Only when my frozen limbs melted again, I slowly reached out to touch his cheek.

And I abruptly pulled him close, kissing him as if his love was all I needed to survive. Kiss after kiss, I drank into his intoxicating presence. His arms snaked around me, pulling close and pinning me against the wall behind me. My second hand went up to the sides of his face, securing his lips over mine as we poured out our feelings for each other.

Only when we parted, panting, but still refusing to let go, I smiled. "Same here. I can't believe I waited for so long to tell you. And I'm happy to finally have this secret off my shoulders. I've been wanting to jump your bones since the day I met you." I grinned, gasping for breath, hearing the rumbling sound getting closer. "Hold me." I ordered him, my grip tightening on him. "Hold me and never let go." I whispered pleadingly, looking up in his eyes.

He smiled and drew me close. "I promise, as long as I still live and breathe, nothing will happen to you." She sealed his promise with yet another intoxicating kiss as we both clutched each other tight.

Thankfully, our cavern entrance was facing the bottom of the mountain, making it hard for the snow to reach us full-force. Then, we were in a part of the slope that had a few trees planted around it. So that should stop a bit of the force with which the avalanche would strike. Comforted by those thoughts, I only steeled myself and held on tighter on Link.

It was over before I knew it. I just received a few pellets of snow in my face, but most of them were blocked by Link. I only peeked out from under his arms when the rumbling sound was low in the horizon.

"Is it done?" I squeaked.

"Yeah…" he breathed out in relief. "See, it wasn't that bad." I felt his chest heaving up and down frantically, as if to calm his breathing.

"Not that bad my ass." I groaned desperately, spotting the entrance to the cave.

Analyzing my desperate tone, Link quickly spun around and faced the entrance.

Or what USED to be the entrance.

"Oh, fuck, this is just perfect." He groaned, getting up and rushing for the wall of snow covering our only way out. Then, his ears twitched and he turned around in alarm. "Extinguish the fire." He coldly ordered.

"But… why? It'll just get colder!" I gasped.

"The smoke will choke us to death if we don't find a way to clear this snow. Until then, we should at least preserve what oxygen we have left." His eyes narrowed as he turned back to the wall of snow and grabbed some of it, throwing it to me in bunches. I quickly set them over the fire, and with a hissing noise, it finally died down, engulfing the cave in pitch black.

The darkness was unnerving. I shrank in my place, my imagination fuelled by the absence of light. It scared me.

"Now what?" I whimpered as his footsteps got near me. I felt him sit down next to me, rubbing his hands together since he'd burned his mittens to provide the fire. I grabbed his hands with my gloved ones and pressed them together, hoping to buy him at least a bit of heat.

"Thanks." He muttered, and in the silence of the dark cave, I heard his teeth clatter.

"Link…" I sighed, taking my hands off and handing him his scarf. "You need it more than me." I sighed.

"No, you keep it, I don't get cold easily." He stubbornly crossed his arms.

"Which is why your teeth are clattering." I raised a brow, knowing he couldn't see me.

"They're not clattering!" he objected stubbornly.

"Riiiight…" I sighed and put it back on, knowing he'd never give in.

We stayed in absolute silence for a while before another rumbling, much lower this time, interrupted the silence. I blushed, feeling my stomach churn.

"You're hungry?" Link asked from next to me.

"Kinda…" I sighed. "Time?" I asked.

"Wait." He got up and blindly headed for the pile of stuff he had taken out of his miraculous pockets. He fumbled through his stuff until he found something that I recognized as his cellphone when a dim light lit up the cave. "Quarter past midnight." He sighed, then looked in his pile of stuff again with the help of his newfound light. I heard the sound of paper and plastic, then the light turned off and he came back and sat down next to me.

"Here you go." I heard him say as he handed me something soft.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Bag of chips. It's not much, but it's all I have except gum and crackers." He sighed.

"Damn, Link." I sighed in relief, opening the bag. "I love your pockets." I grinned, handing him the bag. "Want some?"

"Nah, I'll pass." He looked down at me with a gentle smile.

"How can you not be hungry? It's been over ten hours we haven't eaten anything! Plus, with all that snowboarding, you're bound to be hungry!" I gasped.

"You eat first." He muttered.

"Link, you're also human. Stop acting macho and eat. It won't help if one of us dies here while the other is relatively okay." I glared at him.

"Fine, fine." He sighed, taking a few chips out of the bag and munching on them.

"Good boy." I giggled as I went back to eating whatever small rations we had.

**XXX…XXX**

It wasn't true. I was hungry as hell, but I had to let Zelda have the priority. I've gotten worse. Once, I spent three days locked in my room. I only fainted at the end of the third day. I'm resistant to hunger. Zelda isn't.

"Kay." I sighed, getting up and heading for my pile of stuff. From there, I looked for something round and after finding it, I went back and kneeled next to Zelda. "Zel, we won't last long if there isn't a canal that'll exchange the carbon dioxide with oxygen. So I'll make a hole in the snow. But I need you to hold this flashlight so I can see where I'm going." I told her, handing her the yellow flashlight.

"Flashlight?" she looked incredulously up at me and rolled her eyes. "Damn pockets." She chuckled, grabbing it and lighting it, pointing it at the wall of snow.

"Can I have my scarf back please?" I asked her quietly.

"Oh, here you go." She quickly took it off and handed it to me.

"Thanks." I smiled and headed for the wall. Taking off my hat, I put it on my right hand while I circled my scarf around my left. Now protected by my makeshift gloves, I chose a soft spot and started digging.

With Zelda lighting the way, it wasn't hard. To my dismay, though, the snow was very deep, and I had to keep knocking snow down to reach the places my hands couldn't reach. Slowly, but steadily, a pile of snow got massed in front of our cavern.

But when I knocked down the final layer of snow, I sighed out in relief. Even from the relatively small hole (a diameter of both my hands together) I could see the starry night sky. Even though it was night outside, there was a bit of starlight filtering through our tiny hole, lighting the "entrance" of the small cavern

"Success!" I cheered as I headed back to Zelda, who shut off the flashlight and dragged me close.

"Time?" she asked.

Once again, I checked my cellphone. "Almost one in the morning." I yawned, exhausted.

"Let's sleep now. We'll see about the rest tomorrow." She smiled, caressing my uncovered hair, wet from all that snow falling on me.

"Good idea." I stretched and took my drenched makeshift gloves off, laying my head against the wall. Then, I grabbed Zelda by the hips (it was kind of hard to tell with her huge ski jacket, but I think I got it right) and dragged her on me. Cuddled up, we wished each other a silent good night and sank into a restless sleep.

---

In the morning, the first thing I realized was that the air had gotten exponentially cold. Now, it was harder than ever to stop myself from shuddering and my teeth from clattering. There was no more noise outside, proving that the snowstorm had stopped.

"Thank Farore." I breathed in relief as I shook Zelda. While she woke, I checked my phone. "Dammit!" I swore, seeing as it wouldn't light. "Battery died overnight…" I sighed and started swearing. In compromise, I pulled back my left sleeve to reach my watch. After a painful and tiring process with my huge winter jacket, I read the time. Seven in the morning. We'd gotten six hours of sleep in this nasty place. No wonder…

"Morning already?" Zelda groaned as she got up and stretched.

"Yep. Breakfast's up." I smiled, handing her a plastic bag with a dozen crackers in it.

"Yay, breakfast." She smiled, opening it and popping the first cracker in her mouth. I watched as she ravaged the first six ones, and then handed the bag to me. "Here you go, here's your share." She smiled.

"I'm not hungry." I lied to her with a sweet smile.

"Yes you are, now eat before I shove these up your ass." She threatened.

Chuckling, I uncertainly grabbed the bag and slowly nibbled on one of the crackers. My gaze flickered to Zelda, who was looking at the ceiling with a frown, her hands over her stomach. My heart sank. She just wouldn't admit it.

"Zelda." I frowned, handing her the remaining five crackers.

"I don't want them." She refused stubbornly, a tinge of annoyance in her voice.

"Zelda, you're hungry, you NEED to eat. I'm NOT hungry. You can have my share." I assured her, bringing one of the crackers close to her mouth.

She stayed silent, then after a while, she sighed and gave up, grabbing the cracker. "Thanks…" she muttered as if ashamed and nibbled on it quietly.

"Okay, I'm going to work on getting the hole bigger. It could help if we could now send a signal some way, since my cellphone battery died overnight… So we can't call anyone…" I sighed.

"Okay…" Zelda quietly replied as I grabbed my makeshift gloves again and headed for the wall of snow. Starting with the hole I'd already made, I enlarged the hole, slowly, but steadily digging towards the surface… Sweet freedom…

---

After a tiring while of digging, I realized that half my body was already in the snow, trying to dig out, and that my hands were soaking wet and freezing. Gritting my teeth, I drew back to Zelda's side and looked at her pleadingly.

"Can I borrow your mittens please?" I asked as politely as I could, rubbing my hands together and breathing on them so that I could warm them up a bit.

"Sure!" Zelda hastily got up and held my hands together. While my hands warmed up, she leaned up and planted a kiss on my lips, which helped the heating process. Once done, she took them off and handed them to me.

"Thanks." I smiled, put them on, and returned to work. "By the way, Zel?" I called before I moved back into the snow.

"Yes, love?" she answered curiously.

"I'm going to try and make a path towards the surface. So I might disappear from sight. But if anything happens, be strong, alright?" I smiled. Before I could hear her reply, I'd already moved back into the small tunnel I'd dug up and continued my work.

---

It wasn't long, though, until the snow around me crumbled, leaving me stranded in a couple feet of snow, buried alive. Gasping, but reminding myself to keep my oxygen as much as possible, I kept pushing up, desperately trying to reach the surface. Already, I could feel myself numb, my body slowly reaching out to touch the sweet grasp of death. I wouldn't last long, and I knew it.

Thankfully, I made it out in time. The harsh sunlight hit my eyes, blinding me for a moment. Sweet light, it felt like a blessing, after being deprived of it for so long. It symbolised the freedom I finally had.

Pulling myself up onto the hard snow, I realized how deep we'd been into the ground. At least six feet of snow was accumulated over us. I shuddered, feeling the iciness of the melted snow stinging my skin as it penetrated inside my boots and gloves and melted against my bare head and neck.

I felt my balance wavering, knowing exactly what was happening. Deprived of energy, I fell to the ground, lying on the cold snow before forcefully pushing up. Once in a sitting position, I analysed the situation.

I was weak, and something was definitely wrong. My mind buzzed, wanting to rest my exhausted body. My stomach burned, demanding food, my limbs shivered and froze, cold beyond imagination. With one more effort, I took out my pocket knife and ripped my snow pants open, this way, taking them off without having to remove my boots first.

Once off, I grabbed the lighter I'd taken with me and set fire to the fabric. It wasn't long before a thick column of smoke rose into the air. Smiling satisfactorily, I simply waited until the entire fabric was gone to let go of the lighter and knife, dropping back. Unfortunately, the snow was still soft in the surrounding areas of the hole, and I easily fell through, losing the light and fading into darkness again. My mind only had time to register a crack and searing pain upon impact with the cavern floor, then everything blacked out.

**XXX…XXX**

I was anxiously trying to open a hole to see where Link had gotten to when suddenly, the soft snow on the side broke through and Link fell on the ground with an audible crack and bounced twice before rolling and stopping. Behind him was left a huge hole, with sunlight now gently caressing the cold cavern floor and walls.

"LINK!" I screamed, horrified, as I ran and kneeled next to him, shaking him. "WAKE UP, LINK! WAKE UP!" I screamed, panicked. That's when I noticed his chest slowly heaving up and down. With a sigh of relief and a prayer to the Goddesses, I checked him over.

He'd taken his snow pants off, leaving him in thin jeans and was now vulnerable to the cold that was already ravaging his head, neck, hands and feet. That's when, in the semi-darkness of the cave, I noticed that his lips were pale blue, as well as his cheeks. Gasping in horror, I grabbed his fingers. Dead cold.

"Oh, fuck." I bit my lip, recognizing the symptoms. "This can't be happening, Link, hold on…" I begged him, checking over for any other considerable damage. Asides from his right wrist, that was twisted and deformed (I'm pretty sure that was the crack I heard when he fell through the snow) he seemed fine.

Dragging him to the side of the cavern, I took him into my lap, and incessantly kissing his bluish lips with hopes of getting him to wake up, I prayed for someone to find us soon enough.

---

My prayers were answered a couple of hours later, when I heard a distant shout, followed by dog barks. My ears twitched, and I wondered if I was hallucinating. A close analysis of the noises made me realize I wasn't. There really were people around here, along with a couple dogs. My heart fluttered at the thought that Link and I were finally saved.

"OVER HERE!" I screamed, hoping it would reach them. "HELP!" I screamed again, my voice raw from lack of water. From beside me, I grabbed Link's bottle of water, and took a long, icy swig before I put it back and yelled again. "OVER HERE, PLEASE!"

The sounds stopped for a moment, then the dog barks came closer and closer, followed by human shouts. I grinned and pulled Link closer on instinct.

A few minutes later, a dog whined, followed by a surprised bark as it slid down our passage, into our cavern. I grinned when the dog landed, looking around confusedly.

"Here, boy. Here, my love." I called out. The dog quickly turned around, and upon spotting us, ran towards us and licked my face. I giggled.

The dog was a pretty big husky, grey and white. Big black eyes stared at me as he pushed his neck towards me. I realized there was a small container of whisky on his collar, destined to avalanche survivors to warm them up.

"No thanks, boy. It's illegal for me." I laughed, petting him with a free hand.

The dog seemed to nod, then, without a second sound, it turned towards the huge hole he slid in through and jumped into it with a push from its strong legs. I simply waited until the dog brought its masters back.

Soon enough, I heard crunching footsteps as well as the whine of a dog.

"HELLO?" a human voice called.

I sighed out in relief, finally hearing the first human voice other than Link's for an entire day now. It relieved me. "HELLO!" I answered back.

"Don't worry, ma'am, we're sending help right away." Someone, whom I identified as a security guard by the tone of his voice, told me.

"Thanks!" I called out emptily.

Not a moment later, a couple of men dropped inside the cavern and moved for me, kneeling next to me.

"Are you injured, ma'am? Can you walk?" one of them asked, concerned. This one had purple hair and caring brown eyes, dressed in a navy blue uniform.

"No, I'm fine. It's just that my companion here-" I nudged my boyfriend in my arms. His head rolled around lifelessly, exposing his bluish face to the men. "-is slightly hypothermic and unconscious. So he needs more help than I do." I smiled, hiding my concern behind that mask of relief.

"Can do." The second one nodded, this one blond with emerald eyes, also in a navy blue uniform. "Put him down, ma'am, we'll take it from here." He told me.

"Thank you, Sir." I nodded, and, carefully putting Link down, I got up and followed the first man to the entrance while the second one took care of Link.

"Sheik, we got a relatively healthy lady and a hypothermic unconscious boy down here. Send for the medics." The man under me called.

"Send the girl up, Kafei." The man at the top, Sheik, ordered.

The man holding me up, Kafei, turned to me. "Alright, ma'am, I'm gonna give you a slight push, just try to reach for Sheik up there, alright?" he asked.

"Alright." I nodded and took my position. Before I knew it, I was being pushed up and grabbed by a security guard outside.

This one was blond with ruby eyes, which was kinda weird, but cool anyway. Although he marked himself as the leader because he wore a white jacket with the Sheikan red eyes symbol on it, with navy blue tight pants with white patterns over them and navy blue boots that fit right into the pants.

"All you alright, ma'am?" Sheik asked, concerned.

I was pissed off by people calling me "ma'am" all the time, but I smiled nonetheless. "Yes Sir. Please help my boyfriend, though. I fear he is in a much worse shape than I am." I frowned.

"Don't worry, Miss, we got it under control. What's your name?" Sheik asked kindly, handing me a blanket.

"Zelda. Zelda Harkinian." I replied and took the blanket with a grateful nod. "Nice to meet you, Officer Sheik." I smiled, wrapping it around me.

"Please, just call me Sheik." The security officer smiled.

"Sheik, we're gonna try to send the kid up as well!" Kafei screamed from inside the cave.

"Alright." Sheik coolly called back.

"DO BE CAREFUL!" I gasped, remembering something. "Link also broke his right wrist when he fell down from this hole!" I warned them.

"Can do, little Miss." The other man's voice came.

Sheik suddenly twitched. "Link?"

"Yeah, Link. He's my boyfriend…" I raised a brow questioningly.

"You mean Link Gaiden?" Sheik asked again, a small smile creeping up his face.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" I gasped, startled.

Instead of replying to me, he turned to the cavern entrance and yelled down the hole. "HEY MIDO! BE GENTLE WITH MY HIGH SCHOOL BUDDY!"

"Can do, Sheik." The so-called Mido's voice came to me.

"You know Link?" I raised a brow, curious.

"Here." Sheik took out a cup of coffee from the cup holder on the snowmobile they came with and gave it to me. "I have much to tell you, Miss Zelda."

"Call me Zelda."

"Alright."

---

The medics had arrived shortly after. After making sure I was well enough to walk down the mountain with the security officers, the medics drove Link ahead towards the cabin using our snowmobile. That meant I was left alone with Sheik, Kafei and Mido, along with the affectionate dogs that ran all around me, trying to catch my attention.

"Alright, whose story goes first?" Sheik asked once the medics' snowmobile carriage disappeared in the horizon.

"Yours." I urged him.

"Cool." He smiled, then started. "When Link was new in high school, in the second year of school, I was three years, so three grades, older than him. Now I'm twenty years old, unlike you Missy, who is seventeen, I'm guessing." He smirked.

"Got that right." I rolled my eyes.

"Anyway." He chuckled. "I had volunteered as a tour guide for the new kids around, and Link was assigned to me. So I'd show him around the school, and for the entire year, he could call me to show him around. Of course, we abused that privilege sometimes and used it to miss classes…" he chuckled at that while I raised a smug brow. "But that's how I came to know him. When I graduated that year, I'd left Link with a couple of nice friends. And I took small jobs with university. This is one of them. Avalanche security officer. What a coincidence." He finished with a grin.

"Nice story." I commented emptily.

"Now it's your turn." Sheik urged me.

"Alright." I nodded and recalled my memories. "It all started yesterday, around six o' clock, when we decided to take one last rise down the mountain before the snowstorm hit…"

---

When we got back to the cabin, I was wobbling dizzily. Hunger and fatigue had taken their toll on me, and Sheik had to help me walk. When we got there, I immediately crashed down on a sofa in the lounge and shuddered. Sheik sat down next to me and smiled warmly.

"Sounds like you had quite an adventure, little Miss. Your little boyfriend's got an iron will to live, AND to protect you. No wonder you're unscathed and he's half-dead." He grinned.

"One, I told you to call me Zelda. Two, Link is my Hero, that's what he is. Three, you're just making it worse on my conscience." I groaned tiredly.

"Kay, sorry." He rolled his eyes. "And you're lucky he's smart when he's under pressure." He grinned again.

"What do you mean?" I raised a brow.

"His plan of burning something to give a signal? Brilliant. Of course, your plan to end a snowboard down the mountain was smart too, except that the avalanche took it further down the mountain, past the cabin. You're lucky a few woodsmen found it. Nice work with the glow-in-the-dark sticks, by the way." He remarked.

"Thanks. The miracles that Link's pockets can produce…" I chuckled.

"Completely on the same page as you on that one." Sheik chuckled along. "So Zelda, you hungry?" he asked, concerned.

"Hell yeah." I groaned again.

"I'll get you something to eat." He got up and headed away.

"Sheik?" I called him faintly.

"Hmm?"

"You're the best."

"That's what they tell me."

---

Link woke up the next day, wondering where we were. His hypothermia had faded away, but his wrist had been put into a cast. I couldn't contain my happiness and jumped on him as soon as he woke up. We spent a few more hours in the cabin's infirmary, then after a few goodbyes between high school best friends, we left.

Now, we were in the car, thinking about what had happened just a couple days ago.

"Wow, that was some adventure." Link commented as we drove home.

"Link, you asshole, why didn't you tell me you were hungry? Or tired? Or anything else? I let you do all the work while I just sat back and panicked!" I muttered, crossing my arms.

"Zelda, love, relax. I wanted to keep you out of harm's way. I'd die to keep you safe, you know that. I wanted you to be as safe as possible while I got us out…" he smiled angelically at me.

"You should've told me. I could've helped. At least with you clothes, you were half-naked when the security guards found you." I grinned.

"You liked it, didn't you?" he grinned at me, turning away from the steering wheel for a second to pluck a kiss on my lips.

"Shut it." I blew him a raspberry, then turned away, pouting. "Besides, it wouldn't have been a good idea to undress completely in that cold." I joked darkly.

"Whatever you would probably have attempted next should have heated us up." Link chuckled darkly.

"My GOD, you are SUCH a horny bastard!" I growled amusedly, turning away.

"You like it that way, don't you?" he remarked anyway.

"You know me all too well…" I sighed, rolling my eyes sarcastically.

"I do." He confirmed with a grin.

There was yet another uncomfortable silence where I looked outside, watching the snow-blanketed scenery fly by as we drove.

"Hey, isn't the important thing that we're all safe and alive now?" Link cut in again.

"In what conditions?" I frowned, motioning towards his wrist in a cast.

"It was just an accident, it's okay. Besides, look on the bright side. We conquered our biggest fears and admitted our love for each other, isn't that an upside for being trapped in an avalanche for an entire day?" he grinned.

My features softened. I smiled and unlaced my arms, snaking them around him as he stopped for a red light. My lips gently but passionately moved over his, drawing him in an intoxicating kiss. Only when I parted for breath, I looked at him lovingly and smiled. "And to think that all I needed to make my life perfect was to get Stuck in a Snowstorm."

**********

**Author Notes:**

**I HATE my trademark ending line O_O IT SUCKED BA****11$**** BIG TIME! But I think I got everything right, the avalanche stuff and the survival methods seemed logical to me... I think I got all the flaws out... I think... xD**

**Anyway, hope you guys liked this... It was pretty weird to come up with this when goddamn global warming is making it linger around 20 degrees over here... SAVE THE PLANET! STOP GLOBAL WARMING, DOUCHEBAGS, _WE'RE_ THE GENERATIONS WHO ARE GONNA LIVE IN THE DESERT IF THIS GOES ON LIKE THIS! That was the message of the day ^_^**

**So please review, I'd love to hear from you guys ^_^ Later, peepz :D**

**~LoZ4Life**


End file.
